Mechanisms exist for automatically installing a software product on a computer with a minimum of human intervention. These mechanisms typically provide one or more configuration files that define a series of steps that the computer should perform to install the software product. As the installation proceeds, the computer accesses information from these files. Such information may include a collection of parameters that define values that govern the configuration process. As a result of the configuration, the computer is transformed from a generic processing unit to a specific unit for performing a specific role (such as a web server). In this sense, the installation of operating system programs and application programs can be viewed as “building” a machine.
In many business environments, building a computer infrastructure solution may require configuring a collection of computers. There is typically a cooperative relationship between the computers in such a collection. For instance, a particular business environment may include a cluster of computers (defining “nodes”) configured to collectively perform a function. In another common arrangement, a business environment may include one or more backup computer systems that mirror the operation of a normal production computer system. Accordingly, the task of configuring these collections of computers must take into account the environment-specific interaction between these computers.
There are many challenges involved in configuring groups of computers. For instance, in implementing a particular solution, a business can select from a very wide variety of computer architectures, machine interconnection arrangements, vendors, models, operating systems, application programs, and so on. A system provider (e.g., a technician or engineer) must therefore be amply familiar with the technical details associated with each of these design options. For this reason, the task of generating configuration instructions often requires the services of highly skilled technicians or engineers who have a significant degree of experience with different setup options. And even with such trained individuals, it may require substantial effort and time to sort out all of the complexities involved in generating instructions for sites that include many different computers.
Moreover, because a solution may involve a unique aggregation of design options, a system provider may have difficulty modifying a solution generating for one business site for use in another business site with similar requirements. That is, the unique interdependencies in the solution may prevent the system provider from modifying a prior solution in a modular fashion to provide an updated solution. This difficulty may force the system provider to essentially start from scratch in constructing a new solution for a new business site. Needless to say, these problems may impact the business in a negative way. For instance, these inefficiencies may equate to longer than expected delays and higher than expected costs associated with the configuration task.
Tools exist to assist system providers in generating instructions for the configuration of computers. Nevertheless, there is room for substantial improvement in such tools. For instance, the tools may still approach the task of generating instructions on a case by case basis, providing scripts and protocols narrowly tailored to each case. Hence, these tools may not evolve gracefully to accommodate new architectures, interconnection arrangements, operating systems, and application programs introduced to the market. In other words, these tools may lack a general design paradigm that prevents them from efficiently managing the ever-changing myriad of design options available in constructing computer solutions.
The above-described lack of a general design paradigm also negatively impacts the efficient transfer of configuration information between different technical personnel. The transfer of information is typically accomplished by specifying an identified computer setup in a burdensome and ad hoc manner, that is, by identifying critical parameters, scripts, and interconnection arrangements using a variety of communication techniques (such as drawings, computer documentation, oral instruction, and so on). Because of the ad hoc nature of this information transfer, faulty or insufficient information may be conveyed, requiring potentially time consuming and costly rework. And even when accurate information is conveyed, the conventional approach does not provide an efficient technique for quickly deploying the solution specified in the instructions. These inefficiencies may grow in proportion to the complexity of the configuration task. As stated above, many sites require the configuration of multiple machines having a cooperative relationship. There is no efficient technique for conveying consolidated instructions that can be used to configure machines in this kind of complex environment.
Accordingly, there is a general need in the art for a more efficient and user-friendly technique for generating instructions used to configure programmable machines, such as computers.